Roy, Buttler power England to 386-6 against Bangladesh
Cardiff, Jun 8: Opener Jason Roy smashed his way to a sensational 153 before Jos Buttler provided the late charge with a strokeful fifty as England posted a massive 386 for six against Bangladesh in their World Cup fixture here Saturday.
Roy, who blasted five sixes and had 14 hits to the fence in his 121-ball innings, laid the foundation with two crucial partnerships -- 128 with opener Jonny Bairstow (51) and 77 with first-down Joe Root (21).
Buttler then scored a 44-ball 64 laced with four sixes and two fours and added 95 with skipper Eoin Morgan (35) as England posted the first 350 plus total of the tournament.
For Bangladesh, Mohammad Saifuddin (2/78) and Mehidy Hasan (2/67) picked two wickets each.
Put into bat, England were off to a flying start as Roy and Bairstow scored 67 in the first powerplay and then brought up the hundred in 15 overs.
A stunning catch by Mehidy Hasan at short cover finally ended Bairstow's innings as Bangladesh produced a much-needed breakthrough in the 20th over bowled by skipper Mortaza.
Roy, however, continued in the same vein and completed his century with a boundary off Mustafizur in the 27th over but while completing the run he ended up knocking on-field umpire Joel Wilson down to the ground.
Roy and Root continued to dominate the proceedings as the hosts crossed 200 runs in 30.4 overs.
England lost their second wicket when Root perished in the 32nd over after inside edging a slower ball to the stumps.
In the 35th over, Roy plundered three successive sixes off Mehidy Hasan to complete his 150 in 120 balls but he was holed out by Mortaza at extra cover in the next ball.
Buttler and Morgan then carried the onus with the former blasting two sixes and a four off Mosaddek Hossain to take England across the 250-mark in the 38th over.
However, the duo perished in the 46th and 47th over respectively, while Ben Stokes (6) too was out cheaply.
Liam Plunkett (27) and Chris Woakes (18) then provided some lusty blows to take England close to the 400-mark.
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Rain lashes parts of Bengal as severe cyclone 'Dana' moves closer to coast
Kolkata (PTI): Several districts of West Bengal received moderate to heavy rain on Thursday morning, as severe cyclonic storm 'Dana' inched closer to the state’s coast and that of neighbouring Odisha, the IMD said.
The cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), it said.
The weather system lay 280 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha) and 370 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal) at 2.30 am, the IMD said in a bulletin.
The cyclonic storm is set to bring heavy rainfall in several south Bengal districts, including Kolkata.
Advising fishermen not to venture into the sea, the Met Department said gale wind with speeds reaching 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph is prevailing over northwest Bay of Bengal.
It warned that the wind speed over the area is likely to increase gradually to
100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph till Friday morning, and decrease thereafter.
The coastal districts of Bengal are experiencing moderate to heavy rain and gusty winds since the early hours of Thursday, while Kolkata woke up to an overcast sky and intermittent showers.
The bulletin warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy downpour in isolated places in the south Bengal districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts on Thursday and Friday.
Public transportation to and from Kolkata's suburbs may get affected from the evening, as Eastern and South Eastern railways cancelled a large number of trains on Thursday and Friday, in view of the cyclone.
More than 170 express and passenger trains running through South Eastern Railway (SER) jurisdiction have been cancelled, an official said.
The trains cancelled were scheduled to depart from their originating stations between October 23 and October 27, he said.
The Kolkata-headquartered SER zone is spread across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
Besides, the Eastern Railway (ER) will not operate any EMU local train from Sealdah station on its south and Hasnabad sections from 8 pm on Thursday till 10 am on Friday, the official said.
The ER also cancelled 68 suburban trains on the Howrah division on Friday morning, he said.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said it is on high alert and has mobilised vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency over the Bay of Bengal.
Meanwhile, the NDRF said it has deployed several teams across south Bengal to tackle any emergency situation.
Ferry services in the Sunderbans area spread over North and South 24 Parganas districts and also across river Hooghly in Kolkata and adjoining areas will remain cancelled in view of the impending inclement weather, officials said.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has also opened a control room at its headquarters here, and cancelled the leaves of all essential staff.
